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Land Rover experience: Epic Namib drive

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<b>BRAVING THE NAMIB:</b> Four lucky couples experienced the trip of a lifetime – an epic journey through Namibia courtesy of Pirelli and Land Rover experience. <i>Image: Wheels24/ Sergio Davids.</i>
<b>BRAVING THE NAMIB:</b> Four lucky couples experienced the trip of a lifetime – an epic journey through Namibia courtesy of Pirelli and Land Rover experience. <i>Image: Wheels24/ Sergio Davids.</i>
Land Rover

Drive, story and images:
SERGIO DAVIDS

WINDHOEK, Namibia - Four lucky couples, a 'road trip' of a lifetime. Wheels24 went along for the ride on an epic journey through Namibia with Pirelli and Land Rover experience.

I was given a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to plan and execute a stellar African safari.
 
THE ROUTE

Our journey through Nambia took the convoy of Land Rover Discovery 4 units along the arid Skeleton Coast to Swakopmund, thrugh the Namib desert dunes and back "the “long way around via the Khomas Hochland to Windhoek.
 
The group was made up of Brandon and Jacqui Hyde, Tania Wagner, Maryke Klienhans, Christoffel and Ale Prinsloo and Roloef Lombard and Marlieze Jansen van Rensburg. Guiding us through Namibia and back intact was Land Rover Experience owner Andrew Brown, Land Rover instructor Shane and Pirelli marketing manager Siobhan Gaskin.
 
WINDHOEK TO NA'ANKUSE

Day 1 saw the group arrive in Hosea Kutako International Airport, Windhoek, before heading off to the Na'ankuse Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary, run by conservationist Marlice and her husband Rudie van Vuuren, is a 10 000ha reserve and rehabilitation centre.

IMAGE GALLERY: 2014 Land Rover Experience - Namibia

Many of the animals are endangered - wild dogs, cheetah and caracals, and some have been abused, such as Clarence the lion who was kept as a "house cat" before being brought to the centre. The sanctuary allowed the group to engage with the animals and set the tone for the rest of the adventure.
 
NA'ANKUSE TO SWAKOPMUND

Day 2 saw the group experience the salted gravel roads for which Namibia is famous as we journeyed through the capital and into Okahanja before hitting the infamous Salt Road along the coastline into Swakopmund.
 
It’s not until you’re out on the open road that you truly appreciate convoy driving as stories and inevitable quips, are being shared via two-way radios. As a motoring journalist it’s a rarity to be part of a convoy (read: sticking together) as some of my colleagues treat road-trips as timed events.

Whether its journeying through the Namibian wilderness or taking on the amazing off-road course at Gerotek in Pretoria, the Land Rover Experience ensures you’re made to feel a part of a group.
 
THE SAND

One thing that’s immediately apparent and a nightmare for the fastidious homemaker, when entering Swakopmund, is the sand. There's piles of it everywhere, covering entire streets. I spotted some residents busily sweeping clear porches and roads of sand, mind-boggling if you consider the wind covers the town in swathes of sand overnight.

I asked a local how he felt dealing with the sand, he told me: “It’s just part of living here, you make peace with it. You can’t fight nature.”
 
It must be mentioned that Namibia has amazing food, in terms of both quality and variety, and no trip to Swakopmund would be complete without dinner at the Jetty 1905 restaurant.

TAKING ON THE DUNES

Day 3 - "Dune Day" - saw the group enter the Namib desert, the wolrd's driest and oldest desert, to experience the awe-inspiring dunes. The great sandbox that is the Namib is a hostile place where it’s all too apparent just how easily one could perish.

Fortunately our group was in the competent hands of guides riding ahead on quad bikes. Curiously, our guides “named” some of the peaks and drops, having spent years in the desert, though even their experience can be tested by the Namib wind which shapes and twists the area overnight.
 
Brown commented that the longer we could delay the first inevitable Landy being bogged down, the better our trip would be. While I wasn’t the first to be dragged down I was mired a few times. Our guides and the Land Rover team proved adept at the often arduous task of digging out Discos and getting the convoy safely moving again.

A telling moment of our trip came as the convoy was brought to a halt as the rear support vehicle came within metres of tipping over the edge of a huge crater.
 
I’d advise anyone setting off for the Namib dunes, or any desert terrain, to read the brief guide to dune-driving at the end of the article.
 
After a thrilling drive through the dunes, we left terra firma courtesy of a scenic flight over the arid landscape. Viewed from the above the true scale of the dunes becomes apparent as you glimpse a fraction of the 2000km-long sand box.
 
The return trip on Day 4 had the convoy wind through the Namib and back into the Khomas Hochland before ending at the bustling city of Windhoek.
 
If you’re heading out into the Namib, or any off-road trip for that matter, few vehicles instil as much confidence as a Land Rover Discovery SDV6 SE shod with Pirelli Scorpion ATR tyres (255/55/19 ATR, see pic below).


 
SA will receive the new Discovery Sport early in 2015. Ahead of the local launch, fans will able to experience the new addition to Land Rover’s family at select venues in SA from December 12 2014 to January 30 2015.
 
THE TEAM

The team was incredible in its ability and expertise. The magic happens behind the scenes as they’re prepping vehicles, checking supplies, even washing vehicles late into the night. Many won’t realise that the pair drove the entire trip ahead of the guests’ arrival to plot hazards and alternative routes.
 
Bar a coffee/tea faux par (I had to mention this Mr Brown) the entire trip was outstanding in terms of the level of professionalism, itinerary and punctuality... it’s uncanny that, despite leading a convoy of drivers of varying skills, through unfamiliar terrain, we reached all our destinations on time.
 
PROS AND CONS

An off-road adventure isn’t for everybody and it’s important to know what’s in store to make the most of your Land Rover experience.
 
Here's what some of the lucky participants had to say:

Brandon Hyde: “Andrew Brown and Shane were great, always ready with a good story from their experiences with Land Rover. They kept things going at a well organised, yet mellow pace.
 
“The great thing about this sort of trip is that you get to experience a portion of a vast country such as Namibia in a very short space of time, leaving you with the taste for more and plans for extended stays for the future.
 
“The only ‘brick wall’ I have always hit regarding Namibia is the time one needs to explore properly. Vast distances and long leave from work are needed to get it right, hence the ‘crucial’ need for products such as the Land Rover Experience to get those that can never manage the time into the thick of things!”
 
CP Prinsloo: “We were spoiled almost too much. I’ve gained lifetime memories from this once-in-a-lifetime experience and had fun with amazing people. I'm sas that it was way too short. Cons? Well, digging out other drivers can be tough.”
 
Maryke Kleynhans added five highlights:
1 Driving a Disco 4 as I drive an Isuzu bakkie, was definite highlight. It’s one heck of an upgrade!
2 Experiencing Na’ankuse Lodge - I love wild animals.
3 The scenic flight was something I'd always wanted to do.
4 The dune driving was scary but great fun. The Disco 4 is the perfect vehicle to take into the dunes.
5 Feeling the differences between the Disco 4 and the Disco 3 (Tania Wagner drives one). Everything in the car was fantastic and definitely a ‘next buy’ for me!            
 
W24: What are your thoughts on Andrew Brown and his team?

Tania Wagner: “What an exceptional team and they made us feel so at home and comfortable and safe.  We’d join them any time again on an excursion.”

Kleynhans: “Very professional and exceptional. They really went out of their way to make this trip adventures, save and a memorable one for us.”
 
Here’s a list of sand-driving tips: (some I wished I'd followed)
 
Reduce tyre-pressure to improve traction
Drive smoothly with gear changes at high revs
Make sure you wheels are pointing straight before pulling away
Avoid soft sand at the base of dunes and gullies
Take turns as wide as possible
Travel straight up or down dunes
Follow in others' tyre tracks to drive on compressed ground
Avoid braking - coasting to a stop
Don’t slam the accelerator if you are bogging down
If you’re stuck, try to reverse your own tracks
 
Click here for more information on the Land Rover Experience. Visit Pirelli to view its range of premium tyres.

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